U.S. Public Becoming Less Religious

November 26, 2015

A report from the finds modest declines since 2007 in the percentage of American adults who say they believe in God (89 percent, down from 92 percent), pray daily (55 percent, down from 58 percent), and regularly go to church or other religious services (50 percent, down from 54 percent). Based on a survey of thirty-five thousand U.S. adults, the report, (266 pages, PDF), found an increase, especially among millennials, in the share of respondents who say they do not belong to any organized faith (23 percent, up from 16 percent), while the percentage of the unaffiliated who believe in God fell (to 61 percent, from 70 percent). Among those who do claim a religious affiliation, however, there has been no discernible drop since 2007 in most measures of commitment, with slightly more of them saying they pray daily and agreeing that religion is very important to them.